Taupe, Red and a Safety Pin

The weather outside is still autumnal so another fall outfit today (in June!). This cardigan is another buy from the Spanish market.  I had been looking for a long time for something in this colour, and when I spotted it, instantly got it without thought to price.   

It's a very neutral taupe colour which goes with everything.  I am trying to introduce more contrasts into my wardrobe so wore it with my orangey-red French shirt instead of a taupey coloured top.  The scarf is also from the market and doesn't really go, but doesn't clash either:

I would've normally worn lighter-coloured tights, but the ones I had were a bit too light for the weather so I subbed in a pair that had a pattern with some lighter coloured lines.

It was the first time I wore the cardigan and when I took off the tags, noticed that the safety pin was very unusual:

Have you seen anything like it? Here it is open:

It may not be anything special, but I like uncommon things, so will probably keep it - at least for a while, pack-rat that I am.

St Patrick's Day with Curious George

There is a huge business in clothing for Teddy Bears. When our kids were younger, we took them to a workshop where they could make their own bear (or dog, monkey, lamb or other stuffie). It was fun, you chose a bear, put in the stuffing, added a heart and named it.

Then, you got to browse the shop for clothing. The clothing was super expensive. It could set you back $30 or $40 for an outfit. Needless to say, I tried to convince the kids that newborn baby clothing was just as good.

Some years later, imagine my surprise when I saw similar teddy bear clothing, albeit all sweaters, in the dollar store. I have a Curious George doll which we got from one of those machines with a claw (the Claw!) and ever since I've been buying "holiday sweaters" for it. Unfortunately, he doesn't have a St Patrick's Day sweater.

And so to today's refashion:

Using a little bit of felt and leftover T-shirt fabric,

I cut out clover shapes, and glued them together.  This is the same shape and glue as from the Swag Bag project:

Then, I sewed a button to the front and a safety pin to the back:

attached it to Curious George's sweater, et voila!:

I used a safety pin so that when the time comes for the next holiday, the giant brooch can be removed.

My younger son asked why Curious George doesn't wear pants, so that might be another project.

Safety Pins

One of the things which I'd like to try is to make a safety pin clothing item. A few years ago, I read a how-to in a crafty-sewing magazine and have been thinking about it ever since.

I've picked out a luxe velveteen shirt and just have to decide on a design. Here are some which I've found on-line.

This is Pelayo Diaz and apparently he created some of his own safety pin t-shirts last year and started a craze.

image: play.converse.co.uk

I really like this one; it looks like a fun way to add bling to a plain jacket.  And the design is simple.

image: ecouterre.com

This one is more haute.  From the people standing around in the background, and the skinnyness of the model, it looks like a show or something.

image: sodahead.com

And finally, one which looks rather difficult - although there is a pictorial on the site

image:smexy dred on instructables.com

Other decisions are colour: gold or silver?  I am leaning towards silver.  The great thing about this type of refashion is that you can always undo it.